Dates

Event

1951

Constructed as a L-19A-CE by Cessna at Wichita, Kansas, USA.

1951

Accepted by the USAF for transfer to the Army.

1951

Taken on Strength/Charge with the United States Army with s/n 51-4981.

18 September 1962

Redesignated as O-1A.

1966

Converted to an O-1G.
Converted at Cessna, Wichita, KS.

28 July 1966

Taken on Strength/Charge with the United States Air Force with s/n 51-4981.

28 July 1966

Transferred to 19th Tactical Air Support Squadron (TASS), 505th Tactical Control Group, Bien Hoa, Dong Nai Province, South Vietnam.

9 September 1966

Transferred to 6253rd Tactical Air Support Group (TASG), Provisional, South Vietnam.
Attached to this unit.

8 December 1966

Transferred to 504th TASG, Bien Hoa.

November 1968

Transferred to 22nd TASS, 504th TASG, Binh Thuy, Can Tho Province, South Vietnam.

August 1969

Transferred to 19th TASS, 504th TASG, Bien Hoa.

September 1969

Transferred to 22nd TASS, 504th TASG, Binh Thuy.

December 1969

Transferred to 19th TASS, 504th TASG, Bien Hoa.

12 December 1970

Struck off Strength/Charge from the United States Air Force.
Transferred to Military Assistance Program.

December 1970

Taken on Strength/Charge with the South Vietnam Air Force with s/n 5L-14981.

December 1970

Transferred to 112th Liaison Squadron, 23rd Tactical Wing, 3rd Air Division, Nha Trang.

By 1975

Transferred to 124th Liaison Squadron, 23rd Tactical Wing, 3rd Air Division, Binh Thuy.
Operated with markings: FDD

29 April 1975

Major Bung-Ly, a South Vietnamese Air Force pilot crammed his wife and five children into the Bird Dog to escape the North Vietnamese takeover of South Vietnam. They took off from Con Son Island, skirted enemy ground fire, and headed into the Gulf of Thailand with the hope of finding a rescue ship rumored to be somewhere out there. After a long overwater flight and running low on fuel, Bung-Ly finally spotted USS Midway, its flight deck jam-packed with helicopters. He circled the ship a few times and then flew low over the deck to drop a note written on a chart. It pleaded for some helicopters to be moved so that there would be room for him to land. The Midways captain did not believe that the seven occupants of the Bird Dog could survive a ditching in the rough sea, so he ordered $10 million worth of Huey and Chinook helicopters scuttled overboard to allow Bung-Ly and his family a shot at landing on the rain-soaked, windswept flight deck. (JBaugher).

1975

To National Naval Aviation Museum, NAS Pensacola, Pensacola, FL.
View the Location Dossier

Markings Applied: 5L-14981

8 October 2011

Photographer: Matt Maranto
Notes: Displayed from ceiling of Hanger Bay One on a motorized rotating cable

8 October 2012

Photographer: Glenn Chatfield